TPWTM 3

“Then, you should go.”

At Razhwell’s words, Karon made a puzzled expression. Razhwell smiled mischievously.

“Because the renowned heir of the Windsor family has come to the banquet held by Countess Rusterien.”

“Ah… who is that?”

“Oh, my. Don’t tell me you don’t know?”

Karon frowned. The eldest of the Windsor family… The southern nobles and northern nobles had a strong tendency to ignore each other and socialize among themselves, and above all, Karon did not waste his time memorizing the names of children from noble families. Unless they were beauties or omegas.

Razhwell covered his lips with a face that looked like he was about to die of joy. He covered the twitching corners of his mouth, but his smiling eyes were curved into crescents. His Highness the Prince seems awfully cheerful today. Karon thought so and rose to his feet.

“I’ll know when I go and see for myself. I understand.”

“Yes, Karon. I’m counting on you.”

“Yes, yes. I will see you at the victory banquet.”

“It would be even better if you came with your fiancé then.”

Calling him a fiancé when only a proposal letter had been exchanged. It seemed Razhwell firmly believed that Karon would get married. Well, it wasn’t an incorrect thought, so Karon did not bother to correct him and, after bidding Razhwell farewell, left the lounge.

As he entered the banquet hall, he could feel gazes landing on him from all directions. Karon familiarly picked up a glass from a tray carried by a servant and surveyed his surroundings.

“Chevinelle…”

“I heard he just returned from the southern front yesterday…”

“Did you hear the story about Madame Devery’s club?”

He could hear all the whispering. Karon ignored it all and diligently searched for the heir of the Windsor family. He did not know his face or who he was, but he figured he would get a feel for it if he just looked around. It was while he was casually scanning every corner of the banquet hall.

The third terrace door of the hall opened, and a tall man revealed himself. His silver blond hair fluttered lightly, and his sharp jawline was visible. The man had his eyes slightly lowered, but when he lifted his head, his eyelids, along with his lush eyelashes, rose, revealing transparent blue eyes like Yuri glass.

Through his formal attire, one could sense a firm body that looked slender at a glance. His slim, well built figure looked even better thanks to the tailored clothes that emphasized the area around his waist.

Karon was inwardly a little impressed. The man’s appearance was more to his taste than he had expected. He looked perfect for making cry. Of course, the aura the man exuded was not at all omega like…

Behind that man, another man with a beet red face came running out. Karon recognized his face as well. He was a man famous for playing around in a rather low class way. Was he the second son of Adermond?

Adermond, watching the man walking with firm steps, moved his lips as if to shout something, but then felt the surrounding gazes and shut his mouth. The surrounding nobles, who seemed to have seen something through the wide open window, were looking at Adermond with quite smug faces. Karon smirked. It seemed he had missed a good show.

The man’s steps, which had moved away from Adermond and were crossing the banquet hall, stopped. It was because he had run into Countess Rusterien. Karon glanced at him and drank the champagne in his hand, then looked at the man again at a sudden recollection.

Silver blond hair. Cool eyes.

“Oh.”

Ha. Karon let out a dry laugh. He remembered belatedly. The man who had graduated from the military academy with him, who even then was called the prince of the northern nobles and was not easily approachable.

How could he have forgotten that face?

They were not particularly close, but he could recognize his face. He had to have been that famous at the military academy. That man’s name was…

That’s right. Yurik Windsor.

Karon swiped his tongue across the roof of his mouth. The heir of that Windsor family…

• ~ *

What rumor? Countess Rusterien, who did not sense Yurik’s aura, smiled slyly and beckoned to Yurik. It was a sign to come closer.

Yurik bent his head closer with a suspicious look on his face. He knew very well that she was the information broker of the social world. Don’t tell me, did she find out that my parents and younger brother ran away? I was so careful to keep the servants’ mouths shut, could the word have leaked from somewhere? Yurik swallowed dryly, feeling his insides burn.

“I heard that the Chevinelle ducal family… sent a marriage proposal?”

Hearing those words, the tension drained out of him.

What a relief. No, if Countess Rusterien knows, then the word has already leaked, so isn’t it not a relief? Yurik hardened his expression and whispered quietly.

“How did you know?”

“Oh my, don’t tell me it was true? That Chevinelle!?”

“Madam. Please lower your voice.”

Yurik pressed a hand to his forehead and whispered. Countess Rusterien spread her fan wide, covering her twitching lips.

“Oh, my, my goodness, a proposal from the Chevinelle family! With that Sir Karon?”

Yurik sighed inwardly. He could feel the nobles around them, who were perking up their ears, each gasp and turn their heads.

Countess Rusterien was great in every way, but she liked to enjoy gossip like this. Her eyes were sparkling, perhaps from the joy of being the first to find out. Yurik kept his mouth shut for a moment before giving a slight nod.

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Goodness. How long has that family been rolling under the Empress! And yet their reputation was so tarnished that they were having a headache, but it seems they’ve finally come to their senses and are trying to take on the appearance of nobles. If it’s the Windsor family, um, um. That’s right. Although the Chevinelle family doesn’t match the status of the Windsor family, it’s still worth a try.”

“Madam…”

“It must be a proposal for your younger brother, right? Since the only omega in the Windsor family is your younger brother, Sehil. Oh, my, my. What does Countess Natelin say? Did she say she would accept?”

“No. Madam, not yet, not yet. Nothing has been decided.”

“My dear Yuri. Even if nothing is decided in matters like these, it’s as good as half decided! Anyone who is a veteran of the social circle has already heard the news.”

Countess Rusterien was now treating the union of the Windsor and Chevinelle families as a matter of course. Yurik felt a little offended by this. No matter how rich they were in the empire, did she think that a family with a short noble history and no honor was on a level to be compared to the Windsor family?

Of course, he knew they were amazing. Sweeping up money like a rake in an era rampant with the bourgeoisie was not something that could be done without a considerable mind.

As he was thinking that, Countess Rusterien delivered the final blow.

“Where is Sehil? Did he not come with you today? He should see you one more time before marrying into the Chevinelle family. Although the Windsor count family has a high reputation, in terms of… wealth, it’s far behind the Chevinelle family, isn’t it? I’m also worried about how high that boy Sehil’s nose will get. No, Yuri, have you by any chance found a wedding planner? I know a salon madam I know well, should I introduce you?”

Yurik’s brow furrowed mercilessly. He was already having a headache because of money problems… and on top of that, she brings up Sehil, who ran away with the family’s assets, and belittles the Windsor family by saying they are inferior (in wealth) to the Chevinelle family. Honestly, it was true, but it was annoying.

Yurik quietly watched Countess Rusterien, who was making a fuss while gracefully waving her fan, and then said a word.

“Well. I intend to think about it more carefully.”

“Sehil… huh?”

“A marriage cannot be happy just because there is a lot of money, can it? Above all, that man is also a playboy.”

“Oh my, Yuri.”

While he was speaking, Countess Rusterien’s eyes widened and she looked flustered. She raised her hand as if to stop him, but was unable to do either this or that. Yurik found that expression annoying too.

“To give my younger brother to a man who brandishes his lower body according to his instincts like that… I also think it’s a bit of a waste. The fact that he changes partners every time could be because his skills in bed are lacking, couldn’t it?”

“Uh… um, Yuri?”

“They must have sent a proposal to the Windsor family because they know there are things that money can’t buy. However… frankly, my pride is hurt. Did the Windsor family seem that… easy? Did they think we would gratefully accept if they sent a proposal? That man didn’t even come and woo him face to face…”

Countess Rusterien desperately made eye contact with Yurik, but Yurik, who had flared up in the moment, did not see her signal and gulped down the champagne in his hand.

Thinking about it again made him angry. The wealth they had was gone due to his parents’ business failure, and his younger brother ran away on a lover’s escape with the remaining assets. Unbelievably, a lover’s, escape. And an omega, at that!

He wanted to catch this punk, break his legs, and teach him a proper lesson, but he did not even have the money to track down the runaway. Because he had run off with all of that too!

All that was left for Yurik was debt and debt. Only debt. And a single proposal letter from the Chevinelle family that had come down like a lifeline.

Could life be this cruel? Just thinking about that man made Yurik angry. It was because the fact that a proposal from a man he had liked arrived at his house in this situation, and the image of his own foolish self who had secretly admired and liked that playboy, came to mind.

Yurik neurotically swept his hair up and opened his mouth again. Not knowing who was standing behind him, and not knowing that the people around him were staring at him and the man behind him with wide eyes.

“Isn’t it because his performance in bed is so poor that he keeps changing partners. By any chance, have you not heard such rumors, madam? That the ‘Romance of the Empire’s’ middle part is about this big…”

As he spoke, Yurik turned his body to put down his champagne glass. The next moment, Yurik was able to belatedly discover the man standing behind him. Similar to him, but thanks to a slightly taller height, his gaze went up to see his face. Flashing golden eyes. Flamboyantly swept back red hair.

Ah.

It’s that man.

He should have stopped his chattering mouth here. However, Yurik’s mouth did not listen to his command and poured out the last words.

“…that he only fiddles around, so no one ever felt anything…”

Karon’s eyebrow twitched and went up. A red tongue licked his lips once, then disappeared between his teeth. After staring blankly at the man for a moment, Yurik blinked.

Ha… what on earth is this situation?

Karon stood defiantly in a relaxed manner and looked down at Yurik.

“I’ve never heard anyone say they didn’t feel anything.”

“…”

“Please finish your sentence. Sir Yurik Windsor.”

Yurik became solemn.

Ha… my life…

Gazes poured in from all sides. In the voices of the murmuring nobles, there was a sense of anticipation from somewhere.

It was as if they were curious to see how that Karon Chevinelle would react after being insulted like this by Yurik Windsor.

Yurik swallowed dryly and tried to compose his expression. The man in front of him, Karon Chevinelle, he had seen him from a distance a few times in the past, but this was the first time seeing him this close.

No, is it the first time? Yurik recalled his memories and then came to his senses. He lifted his elegantly lowered eyelids and looked at Karon standing in front of him.

“Is Sir Windsor speaking from experience?”

The sharp yet somehow mysterious eyes curved into a crescent. The man’s smiling eyes were devastatingly attractive. In other words, in vulgar terms, he was very sexy.

However, it was obvious that it was not a real smile, so Yurik unconsciously clenched his fists in tension.

Karon stared intently at Yurik, then lowered his head closer. The distance was so close that their hair brushed against each other.

“Or is it because you want to experience it?”

Seen from right in front, Karon’s eyes shone even more brightly. Strangely, goosebumps rose on the back of his neck, but Yurik frowned as if displeased.

“Do not be rude.”

“Sir Windsor was the one who was rude first.”

He was at a loss for words. Yurik kept his mouth firmly shut and blinked a few times. He felt his fingertips turning white from tension. Goodness, the great Yurik Windsor, nervous.

“Since you are the one who sullies the inside of the sublime empire the most, I suppose such words came out of me without my knowledge.”

Ah, Yurik Windsor. Never loses. Yurik wanted to slap his own mouth. Karon smiled faintly. Countess Rusterien, who was next to them, wore an awkward smile and looked back and forth between Yurik and Karon. Karon’s golden eyes flashed as he looked at Yurik.

“Ah, it’s something the noble young master of the Windsor family could never imagine.”

Karon’s gaze went downwards. He scanned Yurik from head to toe, then grinned.

“You probably can’t even properly use what you have because you’re so concerned with honor, so how about I teach you how to have fun?”

“I do not need it.”

“Things like how to move your hips to make your partner writhe.”

Karon’s hand shot out and wrapped around Yurik’s waist. Yurik, forgetting his decorum, startled and slapped the hand away, stepping back.

“What do you think you are doing now?”

“Learning comes from experience.”

Karon laughed at Yurik’s flustered face. Seeing his brazenly smiling face, annoyance welled up. This damned playboy bastard.

“I wanted to teach you myself.”

“Ha… as expected, the Romance of the Empire certainly flirts in various ways. I’m sorry, but,”

Yurik arrogantly lifted his chin. His blue eyes glared coolly at Karon.

“I have no hobby of playing around promiscuously.”

“My, how noble of you.”

Karon replied with a snort. He shook his head, with an expression that said ‘a young master can’t be helped’.

Yurik tried hard to hide his embarrassment. Usually, when he lifted his chin and looked down arrogantly, the other person would shrink on their own. It was because Yurik’s dignity and aura were so chilling. But that kind of thing did not work on a man who professed debauchery. And this time, it was as good as Yurik having lost. He had gotten excited and blurted out words that could be held against him.

Countess Rusterien, who was next to them, snapped her fan open and laughed, “ho ho”.

“Oh, my goodness. The two handsome alphas must be very close!”

What do you mean close! Yurik glared at Countess Rusterien with flashing eyes, but the Countess fanned herself elegantly and smiled, shyly covering her mouth.

“My goodness, with two such dashing men standing together, it makes such a picture~ This must be the hopeful picture of the south and north of the empire. That’s what I was thinking, you know?”

Countess Rusterien said, waving her fingers, and laughed “ho ho ho”. Yurik was confused as to whether the Countess’s words were the pretense common in high society. As a public official working in the administration, he had little interest in high society events.

As he narrowed his eyes and looked at her, Countess Rusterien tapped Karon’s arm and gave him a suggestive look.

“I’ve heard all the news about Sir Karon. So when are you planning to make a formal proposal?”

At Countess Rusterien’s question, Yurik was the one who flinched in surprise. No, that hasn’t even been confirmed yet! Of course, his family, drowning in debt, desperately needed the Chevinelle family’s wealth, but Yurik’s pride had not yet been broken. Yurik, with a slightly troubled face, tried to stop Countess Rusterien.

“Madam, that matter is.”

“Yuri. There’s no need to hide what everyone already knows, is there? The Count and Countess Windsor must be curious about this too! And Sehil, of course!”

Saying that, Countess Rusterien poked Yurik in the side and whispered to him.

“Hey, Yuri. Just stay still. If you take care of it at a time like this, won’t the Chevinelle family bow down to the Windsor family once more? Sir Karon is no ordinary person, and what love and fun would there be in a marriage without a proposal? It will only increase the gossip. You have to show them from the beginning.”

No, so what are we showing to whom? Yurik’s lips twitched, dumbfounded. Does proposing mean the Chevinelle family is bowing down to the Windsor family? Is that a social convention? He could not understand.

It was clearly a whisper, but Karon heard everything Countess Rusterien whispered. In the first place, Countess Rusterien had no intention of hiding it. She had deliberately brought it up like that to give him a hint in front of him. Karon watched them with an interested face, then chimed in.

“A formal proposal… if you ask me to, there’s no reason I can’t.”

Karon muttered to himself and suddenly grabbed Yurik’s hand, who had been standing still. When Yurik tried to pull his hand away with a hideously contorted face, Karon immediately knelt on one knee. A gasp of ‘Kyaa!’ flowed from among the nobles. Countess Rusterien’s eyes sparkled as she busily fluttered her fan.

“What are you doing?”

To Yurik’s flustered question, Karon answered without a word, pressing his lips to the back of the captured hand. Like a northerner, his white skin was flawless and fine. What kind of alpha has hands like this. While having such a prejudiced thought, Karon gave a smiling glance to Yurik who was looking down at him.

“I should have gone myself to kneel and deliver the proposal. I couldn’t do that.”

Yurik had already frozen stiff when Karon’s lips brushed his hand. His pale face might have looked to Karon as if he was disgusted, but Yurik was tense for a different reason.

He knew this man would act as he pleased like this, but the moment the moist skin touched his, his heart started to pound like crazy along with a shiver. This was completely unexpected.

“Do you go around doing this to alphas too?”

Those words slipped out of his mouth without him realizing. Yurik shut his mouth and swallowed dryly. Karon, who was still rubbing his lips on the back of his hand, smiled faintly.

“Who said anything?”

So straitlaced. Even the blinking eyelashes on his pale face are light in color. If an alpha with this appearance has an omega younger brother, he too must be satisfactorily beautiful. It was an appearance that perfectly matched Karon’s high aesthetic standards.

Karon playfully tickled the palm of the captured hand with his finger, and when Yurik pulled his hand away in disgust, he stood up. His reaction was fresh and amusing. Being high nosed and sharp tongued like an alpha, he was the perfect type to tame.

Of course, his connection with him would be just that, the groom’s brother, the heir of the Windsor family.

“Since you want it so much, I will visit soon. I myself, to propose.”

Karon smiled brightly at the face that was clearly showing警戒 and then lightly kissed Countess Rusterien’s hand as well. He exuded an informal feeling, yet he had an air of dignity.

“Then I will be on my way, Countess. May you have a pleasant time with the fairies of the night.”

He’s good at spouting greasy lines. Fairies of the night, that’s how he referred to the noble ladies attending the party. But when Karon said it, it sounded so simple and romantic. Countess Rusterien blushed, saying “Oh my, my.”

“Yuri, Yuri. You have to tell me in great detail what that man looked like, what he brought, and how he did it when he proposes. You have to tell this auntie first, understand?”

“…”

Watching Karon’s back as he left the banquet hall, Rusterien whispered urgently to Yurik.

Yurik kept his mouth shut. Auntie, since when did you become the Windsor family’s aunt? Yurik wanted to say that, but he barely held it in and frowned with a peculiar expression. Countess Rusterien, not seeing Yurik’s expression, ran to another group of nobles who were calling her. She intended to chatter with everyone about what she had just seen up close.

Yurik sighed and swept his hair up. This damned social party.

Yurik also started to move to return home. A matter had arisen that he needed to go home right now, sit down, and seriously think about.

A formal proposal. By that Karon Chevinelle?

It was so absurd it was dumbfounding. Honestly, even when the proposal letter came, he thought Karon had no say in this marriage. But now, seeing this, that’s not the case, is it!

From Yurik’s perspective, this marriage had to happen. Only if it happens will Yurik be at ease. Otherwise, Yurik’s future would be burdened with confiscated assets and a debt the size of the imperial capital, and he would have to live having lost even the hollow name of the Windsor family.

Yurik’s pride would never allow that. To tarnish the family name when even gilding it is not enough!

But how would he explain his runaway younger brother and parents, and how would he, the one who actually has to accept the proposal, have to face Karon? Yurik felt like he wanted to grab his hair and tear it out right now.

As he was about to leave the banquet hall, there were voices calling him from the surroundings, but Yurik pretended not to hear and left the hall.

A formal proposal…

A formal proposal, from an alpha to an alpha.

Just thinking about it was astounding. And even more so because it had nothing to do with Karon’s intentions either.

How on earth am I supposed to face him. Yurik, who was about to turn back to his carriage, ended up burying his face in his hands. The lobes of his ears were bright red.

• ~ *

The morning after the party ended, Yurik woke up bright and early, sipping warm coffee as he flipped through documents.

He had a regular meeting starting in the morning, so there was much to report directly to the Chancellor. If it had not been for Countess Rusterien’s party yesterday, he would have finished everything long ago and had a comfortable and leisurely time preparing for work, but because he was held up late yesterday, there was still work left even after he processed the documents upon returning home.

Of all times, why did Karon Chevinelle have to show up then. While looking at the documents, Yurik frowned at the sudden memory. The situation was utterly ridiculous. To say he would propose in front of Countess Rusterien. She was a person who boasted the most gossipy mouth in high society.

Now that he was truly in a position where he could not back out, he wondered what Karon was thinking.

The content of the document he was looking at was a serious matter concerning the drought in the eastern part of the empire, but as he read, the clothes Karon Chevinelle had worn that day, his gaze, and even the way he kissed the back of his hand came to mind sequentially. They were things that had absolutely no relation to the document’s contents.

While reading the text about what to do with the granary region, Yurik’s thoughts drifted from how rice bows its head as it ripens, to how that punk held his head stiffly and just laughed, and how he was not just ordinarily handsome… His thoughts went astray. Yurik clutched his head and, unable to scream, clenched his lips.

Damn Karon Chevinelle!

A proposal! A proposal! Sehil, the only omega of the Windsor family, must have already crossed the border and gone far away. A proposal!

Yurik, fuming to himself, eventually slammed his head on the desk.

There was simply no answer as to what he should do about this.

As he had discussed with the butler, if he were to accept the proposal as a scion of the Windsor family, how would that punk’s face change.

Would he be disgusted and ask why he did not say so earlier, asking if he wanted to live like that after casting aside his precious honor, and even throw down a glove to challenge him to a duel…

Seeing that contorted face would probably make Yurik feel a sense of catharsis, but thinking about the scornful gaze made his spirits plummet endlessly. He would rather die than be disliked by Karon Chevinelle.

Then he could just sort out the situation. If he were to say right now that the family’s omega had gotten a whim and run away and refuse the marriage offer, he could at least protect his own honor.

However, there was a high possibility that the family’s honor would not just plummet to the ground but be buried underground.

Yurik thought of the household accounts that were left with only debt. He wracked his brain and scraped together even the emergency funds he had hidden, but all that came out was an amount that could not even pay the interest to Ryuzha Company. But he could not sell the fief and the title.

Probably, if he could not pay the debt, the fief would also be gone. His parents had taken out a loan with the fief as collateral.

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. Yurik let out a long sigh, lifted his head, and neatened his disheveled hair. So that he would look like the heir of the Windsor family, who never deviated from the image of a neat, clean, and elegant nobleman.

In any case, for today, he decided to finish the regular meeting well, and think about this matter after that. Thinking about it right now would not solve the problem, and it was unlikely that Karon would come barging in just one day after declaring he would make a formal proposal.

Thinking so, he picked up the documents again, and heard a knocking sound. Yurik cleared his throat.

“Come in.”

“Young Master, I think you need to come out and see this now.”

“What is it?”

The expression of the butler who urgently opened the door and came in was unusual. At his uncharacteristically flustered face, Yurik felt a sense of anxiety and shot up to his feet.

Following Yurik who was striding out, the butler moved his lips with a face that said he did not know what to say.

“What is it?”

“You must… see for yourself.”

At the butler’s stiff face, Yurik’s expression also hardened. In the lobby, the head maid was fidgeting restlessly, and her face lit up when she saw Yurik coming down the stairs. Most of the servants working in the mansion were whispering and sneaking glances at Yurik. Why were all their expressions so… strange? Yurik scanned the servants who were avoiding his gaze and stepped out of the entrance.

And, he let his mouth hang open inelegantly.

“…What is all this?”

In front of the entrance, wooden boxes and carts filled with all sorts of luxury and precious goods were lined up in a row from the stairs to the garden. The finishing touch was the four horse carriage that came in last. Its inside was filled with blue Pleonia flowers, a rare breed whose price was whatever one named, and the driver’s seat and the ceiling were also filled with lace, ribbons, and flowers.

The strong scent of Pleonia flowers filled the mansion. The fluttering petals scattered in the late spring sunlight and wind.

It was a tremendous sight. For a moment, Yurik almost forgot he was in front of his own house.

He felt like he was going to lose his mind at the clattering sound of horse hooves. Goodness, what in the world is this?

“Are you Sir Yurik Windsor? I am Randel from Deoni Company. Sir Karon Chevinelle sent me.”

“…Goodness.”

The maids who were peeking out, holding onto the front door, all screamed “Kyaaak” and patted each other’s backs. They must have been thinking it was romantic. Yurik could not hide his bewilderment and could not stop them. Randel from Deoni Company tilted his head, looking at the silent Yurik.

“Well, all the luggage has been unloaded, so I will be on my way now.”

As he took off his hat and bowed, Yurik’s eyes trembled and he waved his hand. The maids rushed down, examining the items and exclaiming in admiration. They were all filled with nothing but precious things like pearls, jewels, expensive foreign silks, and lace.

Was it true that the Chevinelle family had learned the alchemy to turn sand into gold? A baseless piece of gossip he had once heard flashed through his mind, but that was not what was important right now.

“Young Master, what should we do with these?”

the butler asked. The head maid said “Tsk” and shooed the maids away. They all flinched, but their sparkling eyes as they examined the carts came across as burdensome.

Yurik pressed a hand to his forehead. Damn Karon Chevinelle.

“For now… put them in Sehil’s room, no, clear out one of the drawing rooms and gather them there.”

“Those flowers…”

“…deal with them somehow.”

“Yes.”

To deal with such trivial matters, Yurik’s current state of mind was beyond bewildered, it was disastrous. He said he would make a formal proposal, and he sends proposal gifts right away! His execution is top notch.

“For now, I have to go to the Imperial Palace first.”

The regular meeting was still left. Yurik turned his head away, frowning as if there was something he did not want to see in front of him. Seeing the act of preparing a proposal for an omega right in front of him made his stomach churn. But he could not send it back either.

When nobles proposed, even in a marriage of convenience, it was the proposer’s duty to send a dowry packaged as a proposal gift like this at the beginning to raise the other noble’s prestige. Sending it back meant that you would not accept the proposal. From Yurik’s position, he could not refuse Chevinelle right now.

Yurik sighed. The butler who followed Yurik, who was returning to his room, hesitated and opened his mouth.

“Um, Young Master.”

Yurik, who was putting on the jacket handed to him by a servant, fiddled with his cuffs and shook his head.

“Later.”

He said it concisely, but the butler seemed to still have something to say.

“Well, Young Master, you must see this too.”

“Let’s deal with it later. I can’t think of anything right now.”

Seeing Yurik’s pale complexion, the butler shut his mouth. Yurik left the trouble at the mansion for the time being and went to work. It was another mistake made in a dazed state of mind. He should have listened to everything the butler had to say before going to work. Yurik regretted it greatly after arriving at the Imperial Palace.

• ~ *

The morning after Countess Rusterien’s party ended, a large picture and an article were published in tabloids all over the empire.

「Karon Chevinelle vs Yurik Windsor

They, who span the south and north of the empire, have met!」

The article that began like that rambled on as if they were doing something that could be either a duel or a marriage, and it informed the entire empire that an enormous proposal gift had arrived at the Windsor family’s townhouse early in the morning.

And that tabloid was delivered directly into Yurik’s hands. Through a completely unexpected person.

“These are the documents that need to be approved by His Majesty the Emperor by today. One is about the grain merchants’ association in the eastern granary region, and now that the sowing season has more or less passed, the temple has requested cooperation, saying they will hold a service to prepare for the rainy season. They are requesting His Highness the Prince to attend…”

While diligently explaining the current issues along with the documents to the Chancellor of the Halcon Empire, Yurik felt a gaze, looked up from the documents, and raised his head.

“…”

Everyone in the Chancellor’s office was looking at him. There were three officials who worked with Yurik next to the Chancellor, and at this time, after the morning’s regular meeting, all the officials were present to give their reports. That is, a total of four pairs of eyes were fixed on Yurik. That number included Chancellor Evan.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Feeling the piercing gaze and stopping his words, Chancellor Evan belatedly cleared his throat and came to his senses. The atmosphere was somehow strange. Yurik narrowed his eyes, observed the Chancellor, and then scanned the officials standing behind him. At that moment, the Chancellor called Yurik.

“Uh, Sir Windsor?”

“Yes, Chancellor. I will continue the report.”

“I’ve already skimmed through it, so the report is fine.”

Chancellor Evan smiled wryly and took out a newspaper, spreading it open. Yurik frowned. Suddenly, during a report?

And then he saw it. The picture that filled the front page, which did not even capture a third of Yurik and Karon’s beauty. The title was astounding. The Duel of the Century! Crazy, what is this.

Yurik, without realizing it, reached out and snatched the newspaper from the Chancellor’s hand. With a cool face, he crumpled the newspaper and hid it at his waist, then raised his head at the gazes staring intently at him.

“…”

Chancellor Evan was smiling slyly. So were the three officials who were with him.

“What to do. It looks like we won’t be able to get any work done today. Such interesting news has come to my ears. His Majesty even brought up this story. He even asked me personally. He told me to check it out myself.”

“It is not a duel.”

“They say it’s a proposal?”

“Nothing has been decided yet.”

“They say you two made a huge scene, kissing hands and all at a social party?”

“…Nothing has been decided.”

“Are you already getting jealous, not wanting to send away the omega you raised so preciously?”

“It is not like that.”

“They say all the flower shops in the capital have run out of Pleonia flowers?”

“…”

“And you, Yurik, received them?”

Yurik grit his teeth and smiled. Does it make sense that what happened two hours ago has already reached the Chancellor’s ears. He had gone straight to the meeting after arriving at work, so he would not have had time to see such a low-class daily!

The Chancellor was busy enjoying Yurik’s discomposed appearance for the first time in a long time. The stiff punk who used to just do his work with a blank face was showing emotion and being flustered, what boss would not find that amusing. It’s so amusing I could die. That thought was written all over the Chancellor’s face.

“You look pleased.”

“How could I not be pleased when my long time subordinate has caused a commotion throughout the empire.”

“I am not the one doing it.”

“Is that so?”

At his slyly smiling face, as if he knew something, Yurik wanted to throw the crumpled newspaper he was holding. He barely held back with the last shred of reason and stepped back.

“So when are you and Karon coming to pay your respects?”

Chancellor Evan definitely knew more than what was in the daily newspaper. As the Chancellor who oversees the empire from his seat, he must also know that the Count and Countess of the Windsor family had gone bankrupt and run away. Yes, he looks like he knows exactly. Yurik was disgusted.

“What are you talking about?”

“I am just, curious about how well the union of the two families will be achieved. Isn’t it important. The matter of the Chevinelle and Windsor families.”

“If you are bored, I will bring you more documents that have piled up.”

“Hey, I’m not bored at all. Yurik, tell me more.”

“About what?”

“So when did Karon say he would propose? More than twenty carts and wooden boxes. What were your thoughts on the gifts?”

“I… I’m not the one receiving them.”

“Is that so?”

He’s certain. The Chancellor knows. That Yurik might be the one getting married! No, his tone was almost certain. The officials with him were also looking at Yurik with interested faces.

Yurik clenched his fists that were trembling with anger. Damn Karon Chevinelle… Before a formal proposal and a big fuss breaks out (of course, a fuss has already broken out), he felt he needed to meet this guy again. Yurik resolved to confront Karon Chevinelle once more.

• ~ *

Yurik put his resolve into action immediately. As soon as he finished his morning duties and it was lunchtime, he took a half day off and rushed out of the Imperial Palace. He was so short on even a single gold coin now that he could not immediately call someone to make inquiries, so he returned to the mansion first.

“Butler, butler!”

“Oh, yes, yes! Young Master, what brings you here at this hour…!”

Yurik tossed his coat to the approaching butler and swept his hair back. He had broken into a cold sweat from rushing so urgently. To sweat like this in the capital of the Halcon Empire, where the weather was as cool as spring and one does not sweat, Yurik clicked his tongue, thinking his appearance was not in line with the noble dignity he had maintained so far.

“Send a message to the Chevinelle family.”

“For what reason?”

“Karon Chevinelle.”

The butler flinched. It was because Yurik had answered as if grinding his teeth. Yurik, walking with a terrifying gaze fixed on the front of the corridor, was exuding the force of a knight going into battle. The butler was very flustered but calmly asked again.

“Shall I try to find out where he is?”

“Yes. He wouldn’t be cooped up in the ducal residence. Not that Karon Chevinelle.”

That’s right. The prodigal son of the empire. He would surely not be sitting still and would be roaming around the capital. The butler moved swiftly, and Yurik returned to his room. To prepare for the best possible attack.

A maid came in and checked his cravat, connecting and draping a gold chain with a sapphire brooch. The clothes with ornate lace and embroidery made Yurik look exceptionally splendid.

A well tailored suit and shiny shoes. Yurik’s appearance today was perfect.

“Young Master, you look so… so handsome.”

The maid looked at Yurik with dreamy eyes and clasped her hands. Another maid who had helped with Yurik’s hair setting also nodded at Yurik with sincerity, not just empty compliments. It meant he looked exceptionally handsome. Receiving those gazes, Yurik checked the mirror and stood up.

Isn’t it a relief, though. That when his parents took all the expensive things from the house, they had a shred of conscience and did not touch any of his things… Of course, most of the truly expensive jewels and cash were taken by Sehil. Yurik sighed.

The reason he dressed up so splendidly when he was not going to a banquet was because he was going to his own battlefield. A nobleman must have dignity and grace. Wealth and nobility must be visible in one’s appearance. Yurik had intentionally dressed up to confront Karon Chevinelle, who clearly did not have an ounce of dignity. To overwhelm him with his aura from the start, and to engrave every word he said into those wandering ears.

Yurik blinked, looking in the mirror. His long, faded looking eyelashes came down, looking classical. And the sparkling blue eyes between them. With this much, Karon Chevinelle would surely listen to his words. Yurik hurriedly finished his preparations, even taking a cane with a large emerald embedded in the head, and left the mansion.

The butler followed him to the main gate of the mansion and said.

“I have made inquiries. But Young Master. Everyone…”

“Everyone?”

“Expressed difficulty because they could not get in touch at all.”

Yurik stopped walking and looked at the butler. The butler swallowed dryly. Yurik frowned with a very displeased face. Even that looked elegant, but to the butler, it was a very pressuring expression.

“So.”

“It’s not that I couldn’t find him. An errand boy on the street came saying he knew, but for you to go alone, Young Master, is a bit…”

“Is there any place I cannot go alone. Tell him to guide me.”

“Yes, I understand. He should be waiting outside now.”

Yurik nodded. Outside the gate, where rose vines were tangled and blooming, a young boy was loitering. The boy saw Yurik and the butler but could not bring himself to approach and just flinched. Yurik gave the butler a look.

“Come here.”

At the call of the butler who received Yurik’s signal, the boy scurried over. Seen up close, his face, smudged with soot, looked dark, but his eyes were clear. The boy held out his hand, and the butler, after glancing at Yurik once, handed the boy 5 silver coins.

“Ahem, boy, guide the esteemed gentleman well to his destination.”

The boy glanced at Yurik. It was obvious just by looking that he was an esteemed gentleman. That platinum blond hair and bright blue eyes…! The boy quickly took the coins and answered.

“Leave it to me!”

Yurik looked at the boy with untrusting eyes. He was young and small… a sense of unease arose, but there was no other choice. He had to confront Karon Chevinelle today. Only then could he decide whether it would be a duel or a marriage. Above all, he would tell him not to do that damn proposal like thing ever again, and also.

“Haa.”

At Yurik’s sigh, the boy flinched and glanced at Yurik, but Yurik waved his hand dismissively and told him to lead the way. Yes, and,

dammit, since your partner is me, let’s not do anything useless and just get together and break up after weighing the pros and cons… he would convey the words… gently, gently.

Yurik resolved. But he realized as soon as they met that it was a resolution that would not last long.

• ~ *

“…Are you sure this is the right place?”

At Yurik’s question, the boy who was leading the way turned around. After wiping his grimy face, which only got more smudged with soot, the boy nodded his head repeatedly, saying it was correct.

Yurik looked around. The dark and gloomy street, even with the sun shining, had vagrants scattered here and there, and the ground was muddy. The clogged sewer was full of garbage, and a stench was rising from it. Yurik covered his nose with a troubled face.

The alleyway, far from the center of the capital, was Sefern Street, a place even the capital turned its back on. A back alley street where vagrants, illegal immigrants, or criminals held sway. What kind of person was that Karon Chevinelle to be holed up in a place like this. A sigh escaped him automatically.

“We’re almost there!”

The boy, like a nimble squirrel, skillfully navigated the alley filled with all sorts of old objects. Yurik, who had a disposition to loathe anything dirty, followed the boy, being very careful not to ruin the clothes he had put so much effort into wearing. His shoes were already ruined, but it could not be helped.

After pushing aside the laundry hanging overhead with his cane, he arrived in front of a building located in the back alley. A magestone lamp emitting a faint light was flickering as if it would go out at any moment, and the place looked very old. Don’t tell me it’s there? As he stared in bewilderment, the boy smiled brightly and pointed at the building.

“Here it is! My lord!”

“…He’s in there?”

As he got closer to the old building, he saw a sign that was hard to read because it was stained yellow. Madame Devery’s Club.